John Hills, a successful trainer in Lambourn for nearly 30 years and one of the five sons of the Classic-winning trainer Barry Hills, died on Sunday at the age of 53. He had been suffering from cancer of the pancreas.

Hills’ brothers Richard and Michael were both leading jockeys and he rode several winners as an amateur rider, including the Amateurs’ Derby at Epsom, before taking out a trainers’ licence in his mid-20s.

His best horses included Wind In Her Hair, who took the Group One Aral Pokal in Germany and was later the dam of the outstanding Japanese champion Deep Impact. He also trained Broadway Flyer, who finished second in the 1994 St Leger, and the useful miler Docksider, who took the Hong Kong Mile in 1999.

Charlie Hills, who inherited Barry’s licence in 2011, said on Sunday: “I couldn’t have wished for a better older brother and I’ll miss him immensely.

“He was always so much fun to be around, extremely clever and witty. He had time for everyone and saw the best in everyone. He was a very talented trainer and we were all so proud of his achievements.”

The Grey Gatsby, the surprise winner of the Dante Stakes at York in mid-May, followed up in the Prix du Jockey-Club [French Derby] at Chantilly on Sunday under a fine ride by Ryan Moore.

Moore was short of room in the early stages of the race and dropped to the rear of the field with the favourite, Prince Gibraltar. While Moore took the shortest route round the rails, however, Gérald Mossé, on Prince Gibraltar, remained well adrift of the pace until the home straight. Moore struck for home a furlong out and, though Prince Gibraltar make rapid headway, in the closing stages he could not reach the winner.

The result was the first victory in a major European Classic for Kevin Ryan, The Grey Gatsby’s trainer, and also Moore’s first success in the race.

“We always thought he was a good horse,” Ryan said. “I don’t think he got the credit he deserved after the Dante Stakes. He will have a break now for a couple of weeks and then there would be the Juddmonte International [at York in August] to consider. He doesn’t have an entry in the Arc, but yes, we would consider supplementing him.”

The boost to the Dante form saw both True Story, who finished third when odds-on for the York trial, and Arod, the Dante runner-up, shorten in the betting for next Saturday’s Derby to a best price of 14-1 and 16-1 respectively.